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VT for Single Payer has compiled recent news articles and letters to the editor about Single Payer Health Care in Vermont. To view all the recent news storiesclick here. To view all the recent letters to the editor click here. To view all recent Editorials and Op-Eds click here.

Recent News Stories

VTDiggerWhen Vermont hospitals generate unexpected revenue, the state should take at least half of that money to support a universal primary care initiative, a key senator said on Tuesday.Sen. Claire Ayer, D-Addison, chairwoman of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee, introduced the idea of a hospital “reinvestment contribution” as one possible funding mechanism for a proposed system of publicly financed primary care.Ayer acknowledged that larger — and still unidentified &md...

NBC5 News
MONTPELIER, Vt. —
More than 100 people attended Tuesday night's public hearing on health care at the statehouse.
High school teacher Tev Kelman was among those who testified before the House Health Care and Senate Health and Welfare committees.
"It's crucial for everybody to have access to whatever health care they need, regardless of income," Kelman said. "We're asking for schools and teachers in them to do more with less, because health care costs are gobb...

VT Digger If state legislators needed a cheering section for enacting universal primary health care, they got one Tuesday night.During a public hearing jointly hosted by the House Health Care and Senate Health and Welfare committees, more than 50 people expressed support for a publicly funded health plan that would provide primary care for all.The financing and administrative details of such a plan have yet to be worked out. But lawmakers said the stories they heard during two and a h...

Letters to the Editor

The Valley ReporterTo The Editor:I just read your editorial in this week’s Valley Reporter about the "draconian cuts" in health care subsidies proposed by Governor Scott and his administration. The proposal is why so many of us are now saying that Universal Primary Care is more important than ever! Health insurers and hospital providers are making out like bandits, particularly the CEOs with million-dollar salaries while primary care providers are the lowest paid doctors in the s...

St. Albans MessengerThe St. Alban’s Messenger February 7th editorial asks why Vermont needs the proposed new universal primary care system envisioned in senate bill S53. This bill would make primary care a public good for all Vermonters, with no out of pocket costs. It is not expensive. Unlike tertiary care, primary care comprises under 6% of total health care spending. But, investing in primary care actually saves lives and money. Currently, many people delay going to the doctor until the...

Bennington Banner“Is universal health care feasible?” That’s a popular theoretical debate in our country and state. Opponents trot out well worn fears, from economic catastrophe to complete destruction of individual responsibility. They relay anecdotes about unmet needs, painting pictures of dead bodies piling up like trash after an outdoor concert.Which is a testament to….something. Because the question is not whether universal health care is feasible. That was answered...

Editorials and Op-Eds

Bennington BannerBy Deborah RichterWay back in 1990, I treated a patient in the inner city of Buffalo. He was an electrician in his mid-thirties who had waited until complications from his diabetes rendered him blind and in end stage kidney failure. He waited because he had no insurance. At the point I first saw him, he was unable to work and was finally eligible for Medicaid. Unfortunately, the diabetes had taken its toll on his health and he was never able to return to work. He died several ye...

VTDigger
Editor’s note: This commentary is by Allan Ramsay, MD, who has been a family physician in Vermont for 38 years. He is currently medical director of the People’s Health and Wellness Clinic in Barre. Dr. Ramsay was a member of the Green Mountain Care Board from 2011-2016.
As the 2018 Vermont legislative session begins, there is significant concern about health care policies proposed by the federal government. These concerns should not cause Vermont’s legislators and ...

Burlington Free Press
By Mary Gerisch
Two years ago, Bernie Sanders introduced a "Medicare for All" bill that would move the U.S. toward a single-payer healthcare system. He didn't get a single co-sponsor.Wednesday, the Vermont independent will introduce his latest version of the bill.
Let’s clear up a few myths about Vermont’s efforts to enact universal so-called single-payer health care.
Myth 1: Single-payer health care failed in Vermont. You can’t fail at som...